Darkest Flight
by Boomboxninja007
Summary: The war between monsters and humans is over. The last of the vampire hunters have turned. Peace has finally befallen the earth and Hotel Transylvania has opened its doors to humans at last. But something is stirring from within the depths. That something may prove strong enough to create a rift between humans and monsters for good and rekindle the war. And it's not after Dracula...
1. Into the Night

**Iping. _Many _years ago...**

"There he is! That's him!"

The hysterical screams of the innkeeper grew even higher in decimals as the door was thrown violently from its hinges and slammed against an unforgiving tiled floor. The roars and bellows of the angry townsfolk rang through the room, the entirety of their fury directed upon a single pair of glasses hovering near a locked window. At first, it appeared nothing was really there, that the glasses somehow managed to levitate on their own, but upon closer examination, a faint, trembling shadow of a human-being could be distinguished, along with a hovering trenchcoat and a suitcase.

"My word, he's _real!"_ one man exclaimed. "Are the rest of you lot seeing what I am? A _man__! An. Invisible. Man!"_

"Nevermind what it is!" another snapped, raising his pitchfork threateningly. "Let's kill it before it does to us what it did to the others!"

"No...wait..._please_!" the unseen figure pleaded. "You're making a mistake! I've never hurt anyone or...or stolen anything! You're just-"

"Jack Griffin," spoke a voice from nearly the back of the room. "I am sentencing you to death for the murders of Lionel Wicksteed and Colonel Adye. You are to be escorted back to London where you will stand trial before-"

_"No_!" the man snarled. The glasses moved slightly and he hissed in pain as he rammed into a small table. A lamp hit the floor and shattered. "You don't understand! _I'm innocent!"_

"He killed them! He killed them!"

"Kill the monster!"

"Destroy him!"

"No!" The shadow moved and the latch on the window suddenly jerked from its place. "Kemp! Kemp!" the voice went on, as though recognizing someone amongst the crowd. "It's me! It's Griffin! You have to tell them, Kemp! Tell them I didn't kill anyone, _please_!"

Said man only turned away, lowered his hat, and shouldered his way from the room, leaving the mob alone to deal with the man.

"_Kemp_!" Griffin screamed after him, his pleas dying at the slamming of the door.

The mob pressed in closer. Most were wielding pitchforks or other tools and weapons, whatever could have been found in a spare minute's notice. In their eyes was the dangerous glint of murder, a lot like a predator going in for it's prey, which was a lot like how Griffin felt.

There was now only one way out of this mess, and it wasn't a guaranteed success. With a snarl and a movement that would have been virtually unseen had it not been for the coat, he turned and threw himself through the window.

Several townsfolk screamed and ran to the window, but in the dark of winter, it was virtually impossible to see anything. Certainly no one noticed the smashed crates and scattered fish below them on the street, or the trenchcoat so perfectly abandoned against a carriage not far away.

There was one, however, who would remain, after the rest of the townsfolk had gone nervously home to their beds and families. Kemp would return to the scene hours later to find Griffin's work still lying forgotten on the table. He would read the notes that his old friend had taken and perfect Jack's faulty formula. He would then find the slimmest sheet of paper hidden underneath the sofa and hold it up to lamplight to read the inscribed lettering.

_Hotel Transylvania._

A wicked smile spread over the scientist's face. He now knew where Griffin was heading.

_A safe-haven for monsters._

Not if he had anything to say about it.

There was a gentle knock at the door. "Dr. Kemp?" came a feminine voice from just outside. "May I enter?"

Kemp quickly shoved the paper into his coat and spun on his heel to get the door. "Ah! Yes! Crystal! Please! Please! Come in! I've been expecting you!" He held the door open to permit the young woman to enter and gaze around the room in awe. "Yes, it's all very astounding, isn't it?"

"And he...he lived here?"

"Yes," was Kemp's abrupt answer as he hurried about, collecting up just a few last minute items. "Well, here we go," he added, dumping everything onto the coffee table. "Are you ready, my dear?"

She took a deep breath and nodded.

Kemp took a few of the viles and poured them together into a vat. A cloud of steam rose toward the heavens and then vanished forever.

"Then let us begin."


	2. A Monster Mash

"I'm telling you, this is a _bad_ idea!"

The voice outside his door was low and panicking. It was the first thing that alerted him to the possibility of intruders. Or, even worse, a _prank_. He sat up in bed immediately, straining his ears for the faint shuffle of feet in the hall. Two, maybe three assailants. Big. Well, bigger than _him_. _Not at all _stealthy. Not that that narrowed it down at all. There were hundreds of monsters at the hotel, most of them larger than him. He was outnumbered, and most likely outsized as well. He knew, as he threw back the sheets and reached for his glasses from the bedside table, he'd have to _outsmart_ them, not outfight them.

"Murray, you _always_ think it's a bad idea."

"And I'm always right, aren't I?"

Creeping silently (as he'd learned to do after several years of being invisible) across the room, he noiselessly picked a canister from his "prank-chest", smiling to himself as he read the inscription. _Perfect_. He slipped over to hide in the crevice behind the door as someone cracked it open and the first beams of light flooded the room.

"Well, _I'm_ not going first," came the mummy's uncertain voice. "This was _your_ idea, so _you_ should go first."

"You're just a big chicken," came Johnny's voice as the human began to step into the room. "Just because he's pranked you more times than me does_ not _mean he hates you."

"Yeah, but there's a_ reason_ he's called the King of Pranks!" Murray protested. "And I don't think he's going to take it too well when he realizes that you pulled this stunt."

"Well, I think it's time the Prank King gets de-throned," Johnny answered shrewdly. His feet were now visible as he slowly pushed the door open. Griffin took a deep breath and pressed his back hard against the wall, holding the canister tightly.

Murray continued to hum his opinion on the matter as the two unwitting men stepped into the room and Johnny closed the door softly behind them. They gazed around the room momentarily. "So...where is he?" Murray questioned.

It was at that moment that Griffin sprung his trap. "Hey, guys."

They turned. It was a bad choice as they were both immediately drenched in glue and pink glitter. Murray yelled out in disgust and Johnny's eyes widened as the two of them fell back, caked in the debris. "What in the-" the human exclaimed, holding up his arms. "_Sweet!_"

"Not sweet! Not sweet at all!" Murray protested as Griffin, who was chuckling, slid out of hiding and positioned himself before them. "_Griffin_! Do you have any idea _how long_ this'll take to clean out of my wrappings?"

"Sorry, buddy," Griffin answered. He shrugged, though he knew they couldn't see it. "But you _did _sneak into my room with the intent of sabotaging me, so I suppose I'll call it even."

"E-even?" Murray spluttered, but Johnny cut him off before his head could combust from the sudden turning of the tables.

"How _do_ you come up with all of these ideas?" He promptly began to move about the room, poking and prodding everything in sight.

"Well, I _am _a scientist," Griffin reminded him as he went over to his desk to pry a ruler from Johnny's grip. "It's in my nature to try and make things, if only for the sake of catching unexpected intruder."

"That's when you're not trying to turn yourself invisible," Murray joked.

_"That," _Griffin argued, whirling to point the ruler at the mummy. "Was an _accident."_

"Yes, I know. You make it a point to remind us every time we bring it up," Murray rolled his glowing green eyes. _"Anyway_," he added, sidestepping away before the invisible man could decide to skewer him with the stationary. "We just came to tell you that Drac's almost ready to leave."

One rim of Griffin's glasses raised as he lifted an eyebrow. "_Already_?"

Of course, he wasn't really surprised. Dracula, Johnny, Frank, and Mavis had been working on a special project for the hotel for weeks. Griffin had been clued in to it's details a few days before, and he couldn't say he wasn't surprised. _Humans_. The hotel was about to be opened up to _humans_. Not that he had anything against humans. Johnny was a great friend, and he himself was still a human, despite being invisible, but he still had to confess that he was a bit skeptical about the whole thing. He'd had his share of bad luck with the few members of mankind that he'd encountered, as had the others. However, he supposed, if his friends could put aside their hatred and fear, then so could he.

"Yeah," Johnny cut in. "He's gathering everyone in the lobby right now."

"Well, we'd better get going," Griffin sighed, setting the ruler down and starting toward the door. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the two sharing a wicked glance. He had no time to register what it was about before he stepped into the hall and was instantly soaked in a bucket of what appeared to be glue and sprinkles. He sighed again and slowly turned to face the two. "And you have a total of _five seconds_ to be out of my sight before I come after you."

The guys fled down the hall as though their pants (or in Murray's case, _wrappings_) were on fire.

Griffin growled and immediately retreated to his room to clean, scowling as he realized the glue made him somewhat visible.

When he emerged minutes later, he found the hall entirely deserted. He found this slightly odd, considering he was on one of the lower floors. He shrugged it off, supposing they were still a bit tipsy from Drac and Ericka's wedding the evening before. Though Griffin didn't drink since he'd somehow been put in charge of watching _all of the kids_, he couldn't help but notice the several bottles of champagne and wine lying abandoned throughout the corridors._ Good thing Wanda_ _took the pups home early,_ he thought to himself as he sidestepped a disheveled zombie bellhop and continued on to the lobby where the other monsters (plus Johnny) had already gathered. Griffin was amused to see the two pranksters still covered in glitter. Mavis and Frank were talking to them, and obviously trying _really hard_ not to laugh.

They all spotted the familiar glasses and Drac turned to speak to him. Griffin nodded a weary hello and slid onto a bar stool to order an orange juice from the bartender zombie (who, quite frankly, looked as though he'd had too much to drink as well).

"Well, _good morning, _Griffin!" Dracula's voice was unusually high and chipper. It was probably due to excitement, he decided, as he set the drink down and spun to face the otherly-caffeinated vampire.

"Hey, Drac. Going steady with the coffee again, I see?" It wasn't really a question. Drac's left eye was practically twitching on its own. "You know, you should really consider taking it a bit slower, or switching to decaf. It's not good for humans. I have no idea how it affects vampires."

"What are you talking about?" Dracula questioned. "I feel _fine_!" He swayed unsteadily and Griffin rolled his eyes, though it was useless when no one could see it. "Are you ready for the trip to the human village?"

"Yeah, _about _that...Drac, are you _sure_ about this? Not that I don't want to see peace between humans and monsters restored, but, don't you think this might be a bit..._much_?" He struggled to keep the pleading out of his voice.

"Griffin!" Drac laughed, throwing an arm around his friend and steering him away from the bar and toward the others. "Don't worry! We've got this! Besides, it has been _four hundred _years! I know what you're afraid of. You don't have to be. Times have changed. He's gone and humans no longer fear us." He laid a hand on his shoulder. "Trust me," he requested.

Griffin nodded as they reached the others and he was tackled in a hug by Wayne and Mavis. He suspected Drac had told them about his earlier reluctance and the reasoning behind it.

"Oh yeah!" Johnny cheered, thrusting a fist into the air. "This is going to be _so awesome_! You ready, Dennis?" He scooped up his red-headed son and swung him around, earning a laugh from the boy.

"I can't wait!" Mavis added, pulling away from Griffin and clasping her hands together in excitement. "The human's world is _so incredibl_e!" she informed the others.

"I wonder if I can get a new frisbee, " Wayne put in hopefully.

"Wait...what happened to the last one?" Dracula questioned.

The werewolf gestured over his shoulder to the hoard of pups that were ensuing chaos upon the entire hotel. "Case in point."

"Ah." Drac curled his lip in understanding.

"Don't worry, you guys!" Johnny interrupted again. "Everyone loves you! You're like heroes to them!"

"Heroes?" Frank echoed, raising an eyebrow. "And you're sure about that?"

"Positive!" Johnny assured him. With that, Drac nodded and fished around his cloak for his keys. "Come on!" Johnny added, taking Mavis' hand and starting toward the door. "It'll be an adventure!"

"Uh...he does know that every "adventure" we've been on has ended up in almost total disaster, doesn't he?" Murray whispered to Wayne who shrugged.

Dracula glided after his daughter and son-in-law, and the other monsters hurried to follow.

Dracula's extremely outdated car was waiting for them outside on the narrow strip of grass near the parking lot. They clambered inside in their normal pattern: Dracula and Mavis in the front, Griffin driving, and all the others piled into an uncomfortable mess in the back, and they were off.

"Oh, I am so excited!" Mavis squealed as they pulled away from the hotel and started down the hill toward the village. She leaned up excitedly in her seat to stare out the window at everything as it passed by. "What's that?" she questioned.

"A plow, " Johnny answered, glancing up to see what she saw. "It's really not that-"

"What's _that_?"

"A...harvester?" Johnny chuckled as he settled back down to play cards with the others.

"WHAT'S THAT?" Mavis' arm suddenly shot out toward the driver's side of the car, pointing to a helicopter passing overhead.

"Ow!" Griffin protested. "That was my nose! I'm right here you know!"

"Oops...sorry." Mavis smiled sheepishly. Griffin glared briefly, but he couldn't stay mad at her. She was the same as she'd been as a kid. And he would know, having been left to watch her on several occasions while the other monsters went for a night out. (Where else would she have gotten her pranking personality?). He loved her as if she were his own daughter.

"No worries," he assured her. "Just try and keep me in mind the next time you lunge for something, 'kay?"

"Deal." Mavis went back to staring out the window excitedly.

Griffin chuckled softly to himself. The laughter quickly died, however, as he recognized the lights in the distance. They were getting close to the village. He shivered uncontrollably and his blood turned to ice. Dracula may have been right. Humans may have finally accepted monsters, but that didn't mean he was anywhere _nea_r ready to put his past behind him.

Fear, along with an unexplainable sense of dread filled him as he pulled off to the side of the road near the entrance to the town. From there, they would walk. After all, there was some kind of celebration going on and they wouldn't be able to pass through the streets that evening.

"Everybody out!" Drac called and they all piled out and immediately began walking toward the town. As they got closer, Griffin began to notice all the humans dressed up in costumes of some kind.

"Oh, far out!" Johnny gasped. "It's Halloween, you guys! Best night of the year! Come on!" With that, he took off running for a group of humans.

"Uh...could you explain this whole...Halloween thing?" Frank called after him. "Johnny?"

He was already long gone.

"Drac? What do you think about-"

But the Count was gone as well.

Griffin sighed. "Well, let's go find them before they gets themselves into trouble again."

The others agreed hastily.

* * *

The building had been deserted for years. Empty. Abandoned. Thrown away. Just like him. But soon...soon the world would know his name. Soon there would not be a monster or human who did not tremble when they saw him coming. He was no Van Helsing. He would be better than Van Helsing _ever__ was. _It was all a cruel game of hide-and-seek. All monsters would pay for what they did, for siding with the wrong man. He would show them. He would show them all.

His weapon was nearly complete, and then the real games could begin.

The time of monsters had come to an end.


End file.
